London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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German measles. First cases in family: Finsbury, Greenwich, Lambeth,
St. Pancras and Southwark.
Acute rheumatism. Holborn, Kensington and Paddington.
ChicJcenpox. Chelsea, Deptford, Islington, Paddington and City of London.
Zymotic enteritis. Throughout year : Deptford, Finsbury, Fulham, Greenwich,
Kensington, Paddington and Woolwich; periodical: Poplar (June to September)
and Southwark (July to September).
Whooping-cough. First cases in family: Battersea; all cases: Finsbury,
Greenwich and Holborn.
Measles.
The deaths from measles in 1935 numbered 19 compared with 855 in 1934.
The death-rate was • 00 per thousand.
The death-rates in London and England and Wales in recent years have been as follows :— Table 14.
| Area. | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0-29 | 0 07 | 0-20 | 0 04 | 0-30 | 0 05 | 0-23 | 0 03 | 019 | 002 | 0-20 |
| England and Wales | 012 | 014 | 0 09 | 009 | 011 | 009 | 011 | 0 08 | 0 08 | 0 05 | 0 09 |
As the year 1935 fell within the inter-epidemic period, few deaths from measles
were expected, but the number which actually occurred, only nineteen, is much
below that recorded in any previous inter-epidemic year.
The biennial epidemic in London was due to begin in the autujnn of 1935, and,
from the information furnished by the daily reports of the head teachers of the
Council's elementary schools, it was evident that it had begun in certain areas
towards the end of October.
The following statement shows the numbers of cases reported from the schools during certain periods of this and the two preceding epidemics :—
| 1931-32 | 1933-34 | 1935-36 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nine school weeks preceding the Christmas holidays ... | 1.568 | 1,899 | 1,032 |
| First six weeks of school spring term ... | 4,809 | 7,065 | 3,928 |
The special report on the measles epidemic of 1933-34 was published in April
1936*
Whoopingcough.
There were 166 deaths from whooping-cough in London during 1935 compared
with 293 in 1934. The death-rate was .04 per thousand.
The death-rates in London and England and Wales in recent years are show in the following table :— Table 15.
| Area | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.11 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.09 | 0.26 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.07 |
| England and Wales | 0.10 | 0.16 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0. 08 | 0. 16 | 0.05 | 0 .06 | 0. 07 | 0.06 | 0. 05 |
* Report of the Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer on the Measles Epidemic,
1933-34. Obtainable from Messrs. P. S. King & Son, 14, Great Smith Street, Westminster,
S.W.I. Price Is.